London Korean Links

Covering things Korean in London and beyond since 2006

Yi Chuljin returns

Yi (Lee) Chuljin is an exceptional Korean dancer who has perfected his Buddhist and Shaman-inspired repertories, including Seungmu (Korean Monk dance) and Salpuri (Korean Exorcism dance), which are generally regarded as the most highly accomplished and most aesthetic folk/stage dance forms in Korea. He is particularly known for emotion and aesthetic understanding that is incredibly … [Read More]

Human Rights and Military-First Politics in the DPRK. Song Jiyoung at Chatham House

Notice of an upcoming lunchtime round-table at Chatham House: Human Rights and Military-First Politics in the DPRK Tuesday 1 December 2009 13.15-14.30 Speaker: Dr Jiyoung Song, Politics and International Studies (POLIS), University of Cambridge Chair: DR JOHN SWENSON-WRIGHT, Associate Fellow, Asia Programme, Chatham House The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) has produced a large … [Read More]

Brief review: Transreal at Asia House

The recent exhibition at Asia House, Transreal, presented two very different Korean artists side by side. There was a convenient area of overlap – both artists have produced mountain landscapes in red and white. But while one artist well-represented on these pages – Sea-hyun Lee – pursues his red landscapes with an almost obsessive single-mindedness, … [Read More]

US-North Korean Relations and the Peace System in the Korean Peninsula: A Historical Inquiry

Please find below the abstract and bio for the talk at SOAS on Friday. Friday, November 27th, 5pm, room G50 (main building) Prof. Wookhee Shin, Seoul National University / SOAS US-North Korean Relations and the Peace System in the Korean Peninsula: A Historical Inquiry Abstract This seminar will deal with six cases of US-North Korean … [Read More]

Mother reveals Bong’s perversity

This report captures director Bong Joon-ho’s insights on his subversive thriller, detailing his “perverse” casting of icons Kim Hye-ja and Won Bin against their established types. Bong discusses his meticulous control over “feminine” landscapes and storyboards, ultimately emphasizing how the primal maternal instinct can transform a mother into a monster in her desperate quest to protect. [Read More]

Wunderkammer at Sesame Art

News of an upcoming group exhibition at Sesame Art, including the work of two Korean artists. We are pleased to announce Wunderkammer, the Chamber of Discoveries, our Christmas exhibition bringing together exciting artists from across the world in an exhibition full of diversity and discovery. Following last year’s Christmas garden, the Wunderkammer focuses on the … [Read More]

Predicting Change in North Korea: the Post Kim Jong-il Era

The University of Cambridge Department of East Asian Studies is pleased to announce the following lecture in its series of East Asian seminars. This seminar will take place on Wednesday, November 25th in Room 7 of the Faculty of Asian & Middle Eastern Studies (formerly Oriental Studies), Sidgwick Avenue, Cambridge from 12.30-14.00 Please note: this … [Read More]

Korea, recharge your energy

In fifty years since the Korean War, South Korea was catapulted from being one of the poorest countries on the planet, on a par with Ethiopia and Bangladesh, to being one of the OECD countries with a GDP that hovers between 11th and 13th in the world, depending on exchange rates. Now Mr Charm Lee, … [Read More]

Untold Scandal screens at the KCC

Notice of the next screening at the Cultural Centre, on Thursday 26 November: Title: Untold Scandal (2003) Time and Date: 7 pm, 26 November 2009 Venue: Multi-purpose Hall, KCC Director: E J-Yong Runtime: 120 mins Synopsis: Based on the novel Les Liaisons Dangereuses, Untold Scandal is set in aristocratic 18th century Korea at the end … [Read More]

The art of hanok living

It’s good to see westerners other other than David Kilburn pointing out that you don’t have to demolish a Hanok to make it inhabitable: http://bit.ly/4GWamM #. Peter Bartholomew and Tom Coyner in the Joongang Daily. There is a belief in Korea (and other Asian countries) that total demolition of an old traditional building and new … [Read More]

Uncertain States: a second look

Peter Corbishley also pays a visit to the photographic show in Commercial Road Alerted by LKL, it was a pleasant surprise, on my way back from eating Korean food in New Malden, to pop into Photo Space at the bottom of the road where I live. Two Korean photographers, Jo Seong-hee and Park Ju-young, are … [Read More]

A view of Korea from Bangladesh

Peter Corbishley has just returned from a trip to Dhaka, Bangladesh, where the Koreans are also active. In 2009 South Korea is putting some $320m investment into the Bangladeshi economy and nearly 160 companies are working there, including a third of all companies operating in the export processing zones. In addition in 2006, for example, … [Read More]